China-US trade talks: "The most important thing is respect between the two countries"

CGTN Europe interviewed Dr John Gong, Professor of Economics at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

Transcript

00:00to Dr. John Gong, Professor of Economics at the University of International Business

00:04and Economics in Beijing. John, welcome back. Good to see you. I wonder to what extent perhaps

00:11the President Trump, President Xi phone call created the political landscape,

00:17the political momentum necessary for these talks.

00:22Well, first of all, thank you very much for having me, Jimmy. I think the phone conversation

00:27between the two presidents is the deciding factor. This round of talk is actually taking place.

00:33And I think, you know, this conversation is more than just about providing a political stage for

00:40this to happen. I think President Trump said, he mentioned that, you know, during this 90-minute

00:46call, the bulk of the time was spent on talking about the trade. So I would expect that the two

00:52great leaders did go into some of the, you know, larger details of this potential trade agreement.

00:57And I would expect that, you know, this talk will destined to generate some positive results

01:04for both countries. And probably as a big gift to President Trump's birthday, you know,

01:10which is going to be a few days coming.

01:13I'm sure, yes. I wonder how internal economic conditions in China, things like deflationary,

01:20factory gate prices, falling exports and so on. I wonder how much that's shaping

01:24China's approach to these negotiations.

01:29Well, I think China's economy is still doing okay. I mean, there are some headwings, but I think

01:34overall, it's tugging along. But I would argue that these challenges, these factors play a very

01:43minor role in its relationship with the United States with respect to this trade talk. I think this

01:49whole thing is not so much about solving China's economic problems. It is about responding to

01:55Washington's trade war against the entire world with dignity, with an equitable response and with

02:03respect. Just a few hours ago, United States new ambassador to China held a reception in which he made

02:14a speech. And he said, the most important thing is respect between the two countries. So I would say,

02:18you know, this whole talk is more about respect and that, you know, China will like to work with

02:24Washington to solve its trade concerns. But it has to be done in equitable, respectable manner.

02:30Given that, then, what would a win look like for each side in these talks? And I wonder how realistic

02:38that might be. Well, I can go into a little bit detail. I think the temporary agreement reached

02:46in Geneva a few weeks ago, set the stage for a further reduction of tariffs. I think from China's

02:56perspective, the major issue is respect to that 20% tariff associated with fentanyl. Now, this thing,

03:04I would expect today that it should be able to be taken out because United States recognizes that

03:11China is making great progress in helping Washington to solve its fentanyl problem. As actually recognized

03:20and mentioned by Nicholas Burns, the previous U.S. ambassador to China during a recent conference

03:26at Brookings Institute, he said that he had a conversation with the Ministry of Public Safety,

03:33which is sort of, you know, the combination of the director of FBI and the other intelligence

03:39communities in the United States. But in any case, they had a good conversation. And Burns said that,

03:45you know, China has done a great deal about doing this. They have arrested, you know, over 300 people

03:50involving this illicit trade, you know, for fentanyl. And, you know, this, and he said, I'm quoting him,

03:57he said this should be acknowledged by the United States.

03:59John, good to see you. Thank you for that. Dr. John Gong, Professor of Economics at the University

04:04of International Business and Economics in Beijing.